JetBlue ending route between West Palm Beach and San Juan

Planes will be moved to Washington

After nearly two years of service, JetBlue Airways is pulling the plug on its route from West Palm Beach to San Juan.

The last day for the nonstop flight between Palm Beach International Airport and Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport will be June 16, JetBlue spokeswoman Tamara Young said.

The New York-based value carrier is canceling the San Juan route and four others to re-deploy resources — including aircraft — to new routes from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Young said.

Also on the chopping block are flights between San Francisco and Austin, Texas; Oakland and Washington Dulles International Airport; and Long Beach, Calif., and Washington Dulles. Seasonal service between Buffalo Niagara International Airport and Fort Myers' Southwest Florida International Airport will not resume in November.

"Closing routes is not an easy decision, but the aircraft made available in this case will allow us to take advantage of growth opportunities" in Washington, Young said.

The nonstop between West Palm Beach and San Juan was expected to bring roughly 15,000 hotel guests and 20,000 room nights totaling $7 million in direct economic impact in Palm Beach County, tourism officials said when it launched May 15, 2012.

Back then, airport officials hoped the first-ever year-round service between West Palm Beach and San Juan would usher in more new markets for the airport.

Since then, JetBlue has carried about 100,000 passengers on the route, Young said.

The airport and tourism groups "invested significant marketing efforts and sales missions to promote the flight, but ultimately the demand was not there," said Stephanie Richards, the airport's marketing director. "This is a prime example of how service can be terminated if a community cannot support it."

Customers with reservations after June 16 will have the option to be re-booked on other JetBlue flights or receive a full refund, Young said. Affected fliers also will get a $50 goodwill credit for their inconvenience.

Given the expansion potential in the Washington, D.C., market, Richards said there's high hopes that the West Palm Beach airport will get additional service to that market. "We feel strongly that this community can definitely support added flights" between Palm Beach International and Ronald Reagan, she said.

As of the 12 months ending January 2014, JetBlue was the airport's top carrier with 732,891 passenger boardings (25.6 percent market share), ahead of Delta Air Lines and US Airways.

JetBlue started operations from Palm Beach International in October 2000 with a single flight to New York.